Cat and Mouse
by sunshine-faery
Summary: Hunter arrives in Widows Vale with his mentor Ciaran. He meets his half brother Cal and his girlfriend Morgan, with whom he feels drawn to, and gets sucked into a game of cat and mouse between Ciaran and Selene that has been in play for years.
1. One

**Summary – Hunter arrives in Widows Vale with his mentor Ciaran MacEwan. There he meets his half brother Cal and his girlfriend Morgan, whom he feels strangely drawn to, and is sucked into a cat and mouse game that has played between Ciaran and Selene Belltower for years and on top of it all he is reunited with his cousin Sky who is a Seeker for the International Council of Witches and has been hunting him down for years.**

_Disclaimer: These are all Cate Tiernans toys. They're just in my playground._

A/N: Hi everyone. I know it has been a very, very long time since my last Sweep fic. Hopefully in that time my writing skills have improved (I think they have. Re-reading old stories of mine make me cringe a little) I have to ask that you be very patient with me while I work on this story. I promise to try posting as often as I can, however I don't have as much spare time to write as often as I'd like to. I'm posting this first chapter early to give you a little taster of what's to come. I'd like to hear your thoughts about it and I'll get typing up more chapters and then try to post as frequently as possible. Please don't lose faith in me, I've had some awesome reviews from you guys in the past and I hope you enjoy reading this new one. So thanks for reading my stupidly long authors note, here's the first chapter of Cat and Mouse. Enjoy xx.

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><p><em>I know it's wrong, completely against all the laws of magick. But I like it. Conjuring the taibhs has never made me feel more powerful. This isn't how I was raised but I have never felt so free.<br>I'm still no closer to finding my parents, but I will, I just need more time. I can control the darkness, it won't control me, when I've found them I'll stop this, no matter how much the dark spirits call to me now. They think I'm worthy, they think I'm meant for something great. _

_Giomanach_

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><p>In many ways Widows Vale resembles England, more than any other places we've been whilst in America. It was small, picturesque and doesn't have a lot of big named American joints around to taint the town with consumerism. It was quite a beautiful town, I'd be quite happy to settle down somewhere like here one day.<p>

The reason for our visit was to meet with an old friend of Ciaran's, and by the way of which he spoke of her, I believed her to be an old flame too. He didn't appear to like her a great deal, but I could tell he respected her, and he should. She's an incredibly powerful witch, notoriously feared worldwide by many witches. I had never yet met her myself and I wasn't all that sure I wanted to. I just hoped she'd take a liking to me, I'd hate to be on the wrong side of this woman.

This woman is Ciaran's female counterpart, she is just as powerful, just as dark and just as intelligent. Her name is Selene Belltower.

She called Ciaran up out of the blue wanting him to visit, claiming she had made an important discovery and he would be very interested to see it, and Ciaran was never one to resist a mystery. It was the first time in nearly 10 years she'd bothered to get in touch with him so that added to his intrigue.

I glanced at the satellite navigation system and it told us that we were almost at her home. "What do you think she wants to show you?" I asked him finally. All the possibilities had been whirring through my mind and I had to admit that I was also pretty intrigued. What could this woman possibly have that will drag Ciaran all the way out to see her?

Ciaran glanced at me with a grin, "Selene is as manipulative as she is malicious, it's probably nothing and this is just a ploy to get me to meet with her," he told me, "If she truly had something worthwhile, the last thing she'll do is share it with me,"

"So why play into it?" I asked

"She wouldn't have called me if she didn't want me for something, Selene will always have something useful to share, so I'll get something out of this one way or another. But there's something in this for her, she needs me for something. And that intrigues me, Selene doesn't need anyone for anything," he chuckled to himself, "The woman is as vindictive as they come," he pulled into a driveway, "Besides its time you meet her, and her son."

I frowned "Who's her son?"

"Cal Blaire, he's your half brother,"

My what? I stared at him incredulously, "Ciaran? I don't understand,"

"Selene's son, is also Daniel Niall's son. He was your father, yes?"

"My Da had another son? He cheated on my Mum?"

"No actually, he cheated on Selene with your mum, Cal's older than you." Ciaran sure knew how to drop a bombshell. He gave me no chance to ask further questions, he climbed out the car and I followed suit. Selene was already waiting for us on her door step.

"Welcome to my home," she greeted us, "Ciaran," she purred pulling him in and they kissed cheeks, "It's been too long," then she eyed me, "I see you brought your little apprentice," I could tell she immediately didn't like me. But I would not let that deter me, I would continue to be polite as they come, I will not allow her to intimidate me.

"Hunter Niall, so pleased to finally make your acquaintance ma'am," I nodded respectfully her way, it didn't stop her from looking at me like I was something on the bottom of her shoe but I hoped that we wouldn't be sticking around for too long.

"I thought you'd be coming alone," she sneered at Ciaran, he didn't answer her but the look on his face told me that he was amused. She led us into the kitchen and started brewing some tea.

"So, Selene where is your son?" Ciaran asked, "I thought it would be nice to introduce him to Hunter,"

It was then Selene's turn to look amused, "He's not home at the moment," she said, "he's with his girlfriend, you'll like her Ciaran, powerful little thing." She said implying everything I needed to hear to figure out why Cal was _really_ going out with her and also why we were here.

"How powerful are we talking about?" he asked

"How does this generations Sguirs Dan sound to you?"

Ciaran's eyes gleamed, I recognized that look. He was hungry for her power. "Goddess," he murmured, "Are you sure, Selene?"

"Of course I'm sure," she snapped, "I'm not an incompetent child!" she then chuckled to herself, "she, however, is. The girl is young and uninitiated. She's only just learned that she's a witch. Cal has taken her under his wing, showing her the basics, gaining her trust,"

"So this girl, is she why we're here?" Ciaran asked. Selene nodded, she was looking like the cat who got the cream, I didn't like it. There was more to this than she was telling him, I could feel it. "This will be like taking candy from a baby," he grinned

"It would be if it wasn't for a meddlesome seeker who's just arrived in town, poking her nose into our business." Selene looked irked, "She arrived a few days ago," her face brightened then, "although, I suppose, Hunter Niall," she said, spitting my name, "you would be of some use for us after all,"

"Would you like me to throw the seeker off trail for you ma'am?" I asked

"It would be of great help to us, besides I hear she's your cousin."

"My cousin?" it had been many years since I was last in contact with my family, I wasn't aware any of them had joined the council.

"Yes, young blonde witch, an Evantide." That didn't narrow it down for me, I had five blonde cousins with the surname of Evantide. "Sky, I believe her name is." Selene continued.

"Athar?" I whispered to myself. Athar was a seeker now? Could I do it, could I face my cousin after all this time? Of all my cousins I was closest with Sky when we were children. She'd never approve of the path I'd chosen so I shouldn't expect any kind of acceptance or expect her to be happy to see me, especially after how I left my family. It shouldn't bother me to know that I'd be a big disappointment to her, but for some reason, it did. I've never let myself think about what my leaving did to my family because even after everything, after all I had done. I was not angry with them, I didn't hate them. There was no reason to, they were very good to me. I loved them, still did even now, I just chose a different path.

"Well? Hunter?" Ciaran asked bringing me out my reverie, "Will you do it?"

I nodded immediately. "Of course, Ciaran." I wouldn't disappoint him, nor would I do anything else that could make Selene disapprove of me any further. I wasn't stupid. But I wouldn't harm my cousin, nor would I allow any harm to come to her. But I will stop her by using Magick against her if she interferes anymore or brings the council down around us. Selene placed a cup of Earl Grey in front of me, I thanked her, then cooled it with my magick and took a sip.

We sat in silence for a while drinking out tea and felt the other presence at the same time. A young witch, male. This must be Cal, Selene's son. My half brother.

I noticed Ciaran and Selene both looking at me, Selene with disgust and Ciaran looked pretty smug with himself.

_Here we go_, I thought.


	2. Two

**Summary – Hunter arrives in Widows Vale with his mentor Ciaran MacEwan. There he meets his half brother Cal and his girlfriend Morgan, whom he feels strangely drawn to, and is sucked into a cat and mouse game that has played between Ciaran and Selene Belltower for years and on top of it all he is reunited with his cousin Sky who is a Seeker for the International Council of Witches and has been hunting him down for years.**

_Disclaimer: These are all Cate Tiernans toys. They're just in my playground._

A/N: Okay so the second chap is ready sooner than I thought I'm making good progress. I'll try and get as many out as I can before next week. The reason for this is because I write my fics at work and don't get much opportunity to write at home and with the christmas rush coming up I'm being changed departments until the middle of December to help out in the warehouse which will mean I'll have no access to a computer to do this. :-( I'll try my best not to leave you hanging for too long. In the meantime, here's chapter 2. Enjoy x

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><p><em>To hell with my Parents. They left us! Why should I waste my time hunting for them when they don't want to be found? I could focus my time and energy doing what I am destined to do. I know now, the taibhs told me. I need power, more power. I must leave this stifling town and my<em>_ family. They grow suspicious of me, my cousin Sky especially. The taibhs whisper to me about other witches like me, I'm setting out to find them. I'll leave tonight._

_Giomanach_

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><p>Awkward wasn't a strong enough word to describe the overall feeling in this room. The second Cal had walked through the door he was seated opposite me. Selene had introduced us, "Cal," she had said, "You remember Ciaran MacEwan?" Cal had nodded, "This is his apprentice Hunter," She hadn't mentioned my last name and it was obvious that she was deliberate in doing this. She wasn't going to give him my full name so he could connect the dots.<p>

Ciaran, however, was. He jumped right in and told him my last name and explained to Cal that I'm his half brother. That's all it took for Cal to take an instant dislike to me. It was obvious he holds a deep resentment towards our father, probably because Selene poisoned his thoughts against him.

It wasn't long before Ciaran dragged Selene out the room so that they could converse in privacy, which left me and Cal sat alone in the kitchen. I knew Ciaran did this on purpose so that Cal and I would have the chance to get to know each other a bit. I looked up at Cal, he didn't take his eyes off me and if the looks of burning hatred could kill I'd be a dead man.

I had done nothing wrong here, he was mad at our father, he had no reason to be mad at me. "Look, I only just found out about you myself and if it helps you feel better he left me too. I have just as much reason to hate the guy as you do," I finally said

"He left you too?" he chuckled darkly,

I nodded, "He and my mother just packed up one night and left me, my brother and sister. They left no note, gave no reason, we were taken in by our aunt and uncle."

I could tell that Call still didn't trust me, but he seemed to relax a little. That was a good thing. I wanted to get to know my half brother. We had something in common besides blood.

"So how long are you and Ciaran sticking around in town for?" Cal asked me

I shrugged, "Goddess knows."

"Well if you're still here at the weekend, why don't you come along to my coven circle?" he offered, he was trying too. The awkwardness was still there but at least he was trying.

"That would be great," I said earnestly

"Well apart from me, and my girlfriend, Morgan, it's just a bunch of non witches. The circle feels pretty juvenile, but it's cool to finally be able to lead my own circles,"

"So tell me about Morgan," I asked, "I hear Selene say she's pretty powerful, this generations Sguirs Dan. She and Ciaran seemed pretty excited,"

Cal's face changed, "Yeah, they are,"

Something was bothering him, "What's wrong?" I asked

"Between you and me?" he lowered his voice, I nodded, "I was fine with it all, getting close to her, getting her to trust me, I was doing my part, being the good son and earning my brownie points for Amyranth. My mother wants to drain her powers, but I don't know if I'm okay with that anymore. I like Morgan,"

"You've fallen for her for real?" I leaned forward

"I don't think so," he said, "But I like her, I mean… I don't know" he buried his face into his hands, "I just don't want her to die," he said finally when he looked up. "Why am I telling _you _all this? You'll probably just tell Ciaran and it'll get back to mother, she'll kill me."

"I promise I won't, we may have only just met Cal, but we are brothers after all. I'll not tell."

"Thanks," Cal sighed in relief, "I'd like you to meet her, I think you'd like her. She may be uninitiated and unlearned but the strength and determination she has! She can send witch messages and light a candle with her mind and she's been practicing a little over a month now. But it's not just her power after everything she's been through lately, finding out she was adopted the way she did, and how she's handling everything. I just really admire her. She's like us Hunter. Her parents didn't want her either. I don't want to hurt her."

That's why Cal was attached to her, she was another young witch unwanted by a parent, or in her case, like mine, it was both parents.

"Since you spilled a secret I'll you tell one of my own," I offered, Cal may have poured his heart out to me a moment ago in a moment of weakness, but it didn't mean he trusted me, to gain trust I'd have to give him something personal too. Cal looked up interested, "I've never been okay with the killing." I admitted, I'd never even told Ciaran that, "I've always been extremely uncomfortable with it. There's a lot of reasons why I've chosen this path, I want more power, I don't want to limit myself. But I don't believe killing anyone is the way forward. I know it doesn't make sense, and I know Ciaran doesn't actually like having to do it either. But he believes it is necessary and in some ways I see his point. But conjuring the dark wave, it doesn't just target the coven, it eliminates whole towns. That is a lot of innocent people who have to die for the sake of a few witches. What makes that necessary?"

"I'm totally on your side with that one," Cal sighed, "What if we can manipulate Morgan into joining our side. Then my mother, Ciaran and the rest of Amyranth wouldn't consider her an opposing threat."

"Do you really think they'll go for that?" I ask, "Surely they just want her power for themselves?"

"And her mother's coven tools," Cal added,

"Her coven tools?" Cal nodded and explained to me how Morgan was the last living descended of the Irish Woodbane coven named Belwicket. Her parents were Maeve Riordan and Angus Bramson. Maeve and Angus had fled a danger in Ireland and came to America with their daughter. Morgan had found Maeve's book of shadows here in Selene's library and had used it to find the location of her hidden coven tools. I had heard of Maeve Riordan, Ciaran had spoke of her once. She was a very powerful witch. But she was a Woodbane who had renounced the dark side. I hadn't missed the way Ciaran spoke of her, he had loved her.

"So they gave Morgan up to protect her,"

Cal looked at me like I was stupid, "It doesn't matter why they gave her up!" he spat, "They should have stuck together as a family,"

Clearly Cal had more abandonment issues than I did, "Cal, Morgan would be dead if they hadn't let her go, surely you can see that?"

Before Cal could answer Ciaran and Selene returned. "Thank you, Selene." Ciaran said, "We shall be on our way. Hunter and I will stick around in town for a while. I would very much like to meet this Morgan,"

"Come by tomorrow evening," Selene said, "My coven Starlocket will be meeting here and Cal will be bringing Morgan. I've also extended an invite to your cousin, Sky, Hunter. I'm sure you'll keep her entertained for us." She smirked at me

"Yes, of course, Selene," I replied. As if the reunion with my cousin wasn't going to be bad enough, it was going to be under the eyes of everyone else.

I thought about what Cal had told me about Morgan, I didn't know whether to mention to Ciaran whether Morgan was Maeve daughter, he loved her, I could tell and he may be bitter about Maeve having bore a child with someone else and that would have an effect on whether or not Cal and I could convince them to get her to join our side instead of killing her for her Magick. I decided not to say anything. That is if Selene hadn't already. She would, without a doubt, already know. After all she had Maeve's book of shadows. But because of the way they kept playing mind games with each other I just knew she wouldn't have told him.

We said our goodbyes, luckily Cal no longer seemed to be irritated with me for my comment earlier. We exchanged phone numbers before he ran up to his room. I followed Ciaran out to the car, I was still a little pissed at him for dropping off the Cal bombshell on me. "How long have you known?" I asked him a little while after he had set off,

"Since you told me who your father was when you first came to me," Ciaran admitted,

"And you left it until now to inform me of a half brother I never knew I had?"

"It didn't seem important at the time," Ciaran brushed off my anger

"It didn't seem important," I chuckled humorlessly, "Of course it's important Ciaran! He's my brother, I had a right to know, how can that not seem important to you?" The man actually had the nerve to sit there and not answer my question. He looked amused with himself, it irked me that Ciaran would sometimes play me like a puppet, there will come a day when he will no longer be able do that to me.


	3. Three

**Summary – Hunter arrives in Widows Vale with his mentor Ciaran MacEwan. There he meets his half brother Cal and his girlfriend Morgan, whom he feels strangely drawn to, and is sucked into a cat and mouse game that has played between Ciaran and Selene Belltower for years and on top of it all he is reunited with his cousin Sky who is a Seeker for the International Council of Witches and has been hunting him down for years.**

_Disclaimer: These are all Cate Tiernans toys. They're just in my playground._

A/N: Major apologies in the delay of getting this next chapter out... as I said before I was working in a different department at work and had no access to a computer, maybe I should get access to Microsoft word at home at some point so I can continue to write there! Lol. Anyway 10 days till Christmas (and my birthday)! Is everyone ready?

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><p><em>I have travelled far but my search is now over. Today is my 13<em>_th__ birthday and I found who I was looking for. I'm in Scotland, I wandered into an occult store to stock up on supplies. A man grabbed my arm knowing I was stealing, I thought I was done for but the man eyed me warily for a long time then asked for my name. When I told him an eerie grin crossed his face. He seemed to stare right into my soul and I knew then he was like me. His name is Ciaran and he offered to pay for my goods and he took me in. I questioned him, why would he bother with someone like me? He told me I had potential and was willing to work with me. He took me to his home and introduced me to his 3 children, Kyle, Iona and Killian. His wife Grania didn't seem to care for my presence or anyone else's in the home besides herself, she is peculiar. But Ciaran is great, I can learn so much from him. _

_Giomanach_

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><p>Ciaran had property in a town just outside Widows Vale called Red Kill. It wasn't by any stretch of the imagination a modest building. In comparison to Selene's it was much smaller, but Ciaran's house was much larger than your standard town house. It was also very, very beautiful.<p>

As much as I wanted to look around, unpack my things and settle into my new temporary bedroom, I needed to get away from him for a while. He had kept this secret from me for years, just like my own father did. I wondered if my mother ever knew about Cal.

It was a frosty November afternoon. I threw on a pair of gloves, my jacket and a scarf and decided to head out for a walk. I noted Red Kill was just as picturesque as Widows Vale was, maybe even more so. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply and felt my senses start tingling. I opened my eyes and followed my instincts, something had a pull and it was drawing me in.

It wasn't long until I found what it was. An occult store, right here in Red Kill. I was impressed, I didn't think I'd find one around for miles, and it was lucky there was because I needed to stock up on some items. I crossed the road passing a huge white American tank of a car parked outside. I had to chuckle, seeing this car was the first thing to make me feel home sick for England. It was the only thing I've seen in this town that felt remotely American and it looked ridiculous, completely out of place parked here.

I opened the door jangling the bell above it as I walked in. I breathed in deeply. I always loved the smell of an occult store, the musty old books, combined with different fragrances of the candles and herbs. It always managed to centre me when I needed to clear my head. And right now was the perfect time for it.

"Just a minute," a voice came from nowhere. I started browsing the shelves. For such a small shop it was well stocked. Weirdly I was still feeling that pull, I was already in the shop. What else could be calling to me? As I wondered this, two women stepped out from behind an orange curtain. The woman in front was an older lady. At a guess I'd say she was in her early fifties, she dressed all in lavender and a long grey braid fell down her back. She looked very welcoming, "Apologies," she smiled at me, "Do you know what you're looking for? Would you like any help?"

"No thank you," I smiled, "I know what I'm looking for,"

The second woman was just a girl I'd say she was either 17 or 18. Her head was lowered so I didn't get a good look at her face but she had beautiful long brown hair and was wearing a pair of faded jeans and a wooly sweater that was too large for her. She was strong, very strong, I could sense her power rolling off in waves. It was almost making me salivate. But what was unusual about the picture before me was the pile of books balanced in her arms. I recognized the titles listed down the spines of the books, they were all for beginners in Wicca. She must be a tutor.

The tingling sensation strengthened when I looked at her, I couldn't understand it. "Thank you for your help today, Alyce" she said in a small voice.

"Anytime," Alyce smiled, "Go through this reading list, if you have any questions about anything you know where to find me." So the books were for her, this was making less sense. She was so strong in her Magick.

The girl smiled and nodded, Alyce pulled her in for gentle hug which made her almost drop the pile of books. She steadied them again and started walking towards the exit. Still she didn't look up so I didn't get a good look at her face. I noticed some of the books on her pile slowly start to slide off. As she tried to reach for the door handle to exit the shop they all crashed to the floor.

"Darn it," she muttered

"Here. Let me," I stepped forward and helped her picked the books up of the floor. As we stood again, I stacked them more securely in her arms and then finally, she looked right at me.

"Thank you," she smiled.

My breath caught and my heart skipped a beat. She was beautiful. It took me a moment to realize I was gawking at her like a buffoon, I cleared my throat, "You're welcome," I studied her a while longer, she really was stunning, but there was something so familiar about her. I couldn't put my finger on it. "Have we met before?" the words were out my mouth quicker than they came into my head. She looked a bit worried and I mentally slapped myself, how stalker like did that sound? "It's not my pathetic attempt at a pick up, I promise," I smiled and tried to make myself sound more playful so as not to scare her, "You really do look familiar like I've seen you somewhere before,"

She looked me up and down and pulled her lip between her teeth and shook her head, "I'm sorry, I don't believe we have, I've got a good memory, I would have remembered you."

"You just remind me of someone, I guess…" I trailed off. I was stumped I tried to place why she seemed so familiar to me and was coming up with nothing.

"That comes with having a plain Jane face, people ask me that all the time," she said quietly

"You are anything but plain," I said automatically, "You are a beautiful girl, don't ever think otherwise," I watched as her cheeks as she flushed bright red. I could tell she wasn't all that used to a compliment and in all honesty I was never usually so bold with a woman, but the one standing in front of me had me bewitched. I pulled the door open for her and watched her head towards the big, ugly American car. I chuckled. That was _her_ car? As she approached I saw her juggling with the books and her keys.

Before I realized it I'd already jogged over to her, "I can't have you dropping all those books again, I've only just picked them all off the floor" I laughed and took the pile off her as she unlocked the car and opened the door.

"Thank you, again," she smiled, "I can be such a klutz sometimes,"

"I'm Hunter," I introduced myself,

"Morgan," she smiled

My smile vanished quickly, it all made sense now. The introduction to Wicca books combined with her raw power. I can't believe I was so stupid not to add two and two together before. This was Morgan, this girl, this beautiful girl was _Morgan_. My half brothers girlfriend, the girl my mentor and Selene Belltower were planning to suck the magick and life out of. Cal was right, we couldn't do that to this girl. We needed to get her on our side. I felt a strong desire to protect her. I quickly put my smile back up.

"That's a pretty name," I smiled sweetly, I tried to remember if Cal had shown me a picture of her, or if I had seen one somewhere of her at Selene's, that would explain why she was familiar to me. But I was coming up blank.

"So I take it you're not from around here," she said,

"How on earth did you deduce that, Sherlock?" I asked playfully

"Your British accent gives you away, you might want to work on that,"

"I'll be sure to do that," I said putting on the worst attempt of an American accent I've ever done in my life.

"You will definitely have to work harder at it than that," she laughed

"Definitely." I agreed, "That was terrible, wasn't it?" she nodded while still laughing, "Well be careful carrying those back out of the car, unfortunately I won't be able to personally assist you when you get home and I usually charge for my services."

Morgan controlled her giggling, "Well thank you again, Hunter."

"You are very welcome. I'm sure I'll see you around some time," I knew for a fact that I would.

"Maybe you will," she said, "Good bye, Hunter," she climbed into her car and I watched as she pulled away.

"Goodbye Morgan"

I turned back into the shop and Alyce was waiting with a smile and her hands knitted together, "You are very kind for helping Morgan like that," she said

"It was nothing," I cleared my throat. She grinned at me brightly, looking almost amused. Then turned and headed back to the counter leaving me to gather my purchases.


	4. Four

**Summary – Hunter arrives in Widows Vale with his mentor Ciaran MacEwan. There he meets his half brother Cal and his girlfriend Morgan, whom he feels strangely drawn to, and is sucked into a cat and mouse game that has played between Ciaran and Selene Belltower for years and on top of it all he is reunited with his cousin Sky who is a Seeker for the International Council of Witches and has been hunting him down for years.**

_Disclaimer: These are all Cate Tiernans toys. They're just in my playground._

A/N: I know what you're all thinking... what lucky ducks you are, two chapters in 1 week! I'm afraid its because you may be waiting a while again for the next one with Christmas coming and everything else in between. So here's my Christmas gift to you all, chapter 4. Enjoy and please review

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><p><em>Today I made my initiation, on the same day as Killian. I was glad, Killian had become a good friend, he had become like a brother to me, it made me miss my true siblings sometimes but what I had now was so much better! Ciaran was so proud of us, although he showed me more attention than his own son. Killian noticed but he claimed not to care, he had never been close to his father. I wondered why. Killian is a strong witch and has a lot of potential to be great but instead he wastes it all away he just wants to have fun with it, and that's always been Killian's way. Ciaran probably doesn't approve but I didn't mind Killian could make his own choices, he was a good friend to me. I finally have access to my full powers, Killian and I have been practicing with witch messages and learned to conjure witch fire, I can't wait to really see what I can do now. Neither can Ciaran.<em>

_Giomanach_

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><p>I had successfully managed to avoid Ciaran for the last 24 hours. He hadn't barged in on me or bothered me in that time either. Smart move, I figure he understood I needed space to think. But I couldn't concentrate on thinking about my messed up family ties, about the lies my father kept from me about the brother I never knew I had. My thoughts always kept flying right back to Morgan and I couldn't understand why. Nor could I still figure out why she was so incredibly familiar.<p>

Sure, I found her unbelievably attractive, but why were my protective instincts going into overdrive. I couldn't allow Selene or Ciaran to harm her, nor did I even like the idea of corrupting her, it was partly the air of innocence surrounding her that made her so beautiful.

I couldn't get her out of my head. I would imagine how amazing Morgan and I would be together, how unstoppable we would be. But then I would remember that Morgan is with Cal. And how can I do that do the brother I've never known, the brother I'm trying to get to know? And then my betraying thoughts runs back over the conversation I had with Cal earlier that day, Cal said that he didn't think he was in love with her anyway. And so the loop perpetuates on in my head.

Unfortunately I had no more time to dwell on my confused feelings as it was now time for me to come out of hiding. Ciaran and I were heading out to Selene's for a Starlocket coven meeting. I didn't know how I was feeling about it. On the one hand I was excited that I was going to get to see Morgan again and I was unsure why I felt that way, all of my feelings surrounding that girl confused me, how could I feel so strongly about someone after one brief encounter with them? And then on the other hand I was about to be reunited with my cousin Sky. It was not going to be an easy reunion.

I zipped up my jacket and headed down the stairs where Ciaran was waiting for me by the front door. "Are you still ignoring me today, Giomanach?" he still had the audacity to look smug about it.

"No, Ciaran. I am not a child, but you kept things from me, things you should have told me years ago. I'm still angry with you," I responded

"Understandable," he nodded, "Ready to go?"

About fifteen minutes later we were pulling up outside Selene's house, my nerves were jittering all over, my heart was pounding and my palms were sweating. I wasn't sure what was affecting me most, the thought of seeing Morgan or the thought of seeing Sky.

"Would you calm yourself?" Ciaran ordered. He was right, I needed to get a grip. I normally had such good control of myself and this was not a good time to lose it, I would not do that in front of Selene Belltower. This was insane. _Pull yourself together, Niall. _"What is wrong with you?" he asked

"It's just… seeing Sky again after all this time. The idea of it is making me a little uncomfortable," It wasn't a lie, but wasn't a full truth either. Ciaran wouldn't know as long as there wasn't a lie in my answer, and as I expected he seemed to accept my answer.

As we headed to the house I looked around at all the other cars parked outside trying to spot Morgan's American tank. It wasn't here but I knew she was. I felt that tingling in my spine again, I'd never felt so highly strung in my life. I needed to cool it.

I followed Ciaran into Selene's circle room. A lot of people were already here mingling and talking excitedly. There was no sign of Cal or Morgan. Or Sky for that matter. "Ciaran," Selene breezed over and they kissed cheeks, I already expected to be ignored by her. She pulled him away as they talked in hushed tones.

The tingling in my spine increased, I turned and saw Cal and Morgan making their way down the stairs, her hand was securely in his and she was laughing at something he was telling her, I felt a wave of jealousy come over me. What was that about?

I turned back to the room, Selene was floating between guests playing the perfect hostess. If only these people knew. Ciaran was engrossed in a conversation with Alyce and another man. Still no Sky. I was half hoping she wouldn't show. I really didn't want the first time I see her again to be in front of all these people.

"Morgan, I'd like you to meet someone." I heard Cal's voice behind me, I felt his hand on my shoulder and I turned to see both Cal and Morgan stood before me.

"You," Morgan smiled at me with that beautiful smile of hers,

"And you," I replied

"You two have already met?" Cal asked, he looked more suspicious than surprised

"We ran into each other at Practical Magick yesterday," Morgan explained, "I was struggling to carry the books on the reading list Alyce gave me and he helped me get them to my car,"

"How did you fair getting them out?" I asked her

She laughed, "I could have used your help again," she admitted, "So, you're the long lost half brother who just showed up out of the blue,"

"I suppose I am,"

"Cal!" The three of us looked towards the voice, it was Selene waving him over,

"I'm being summoned," he rolled his eyes, "Excuse me," he planted a chaste kiss on Morgan's temple watching me with every move he made. He was marking his territory, he felt threatened by me. Had I given him reason? I thought I was keeping my feelings concealed pretty well.

"So what brings you into town?" Morgan asked, "First time in America?"

"No, actually I've been in America for about two years now, moving around from state to state. I must say being in upstate New York feels a lot like being back in England though, doesn't make me feel as homesick. I travel with my mentor, he's a good friend of Selene's we came by to visit."

"And I've never even been out of America. I'd love to go to England," she said wistfully

"Ah Morgan, there you are," the woman from the shop yesterday, Alyce came over. "Hello again dear," she said to me, "I'm Alyce Fernbrake," she introduced herself.

"Hunter Niall," I shook her warm hand.

"Morgan, how are you getting along with that reading list?" she asked

"I read through those sections on herb properties you marked out for me last night before I went to bed," she said, "I wish I had time to read more, I found it really interesting especially about the healing properties, but I had a ton of homework to get through,"

"Cal told me you only just learned of your heritage," I said, Morgan nodded, "You have a lot to catch up on then, while I'm in town I'll be happy to help in any way that I can. Maybe I can bring a different perspective to your learning to what Cal or Alyce can."

"That would be great," Morgan smiled, "I can use all the help I can get, are you staying in town for long?"

"At the minute I'm not sure, for at least the next month though. Let me give you my number, give me a call day or night if you need to talk about anything," we whipped out our phones and exchanged numbers.

"I feel like I'm always thanking you," Morgan looked up at me and smiled, "But thank you, I really appreciate it,"

"Truthfully, when Cal told me your story I wanted to help in any way I could. Finding out you're adopted and that you're a witch on top of that must have been really rough on you and your family." She agreed, "And then coming into this world and realizing how far behind you are and struggling to keep up, keep your catholic family happy and keep on top of your school work all at the same time. You're a strong person Morgan, but you don't need to go through it alone, and I know you're not alone in the slightest you have a lot of people who love you and want to help and I'm glad you would like me to be one of those people," _Did I just imply that I loved her?_

"I'll call you sometime," Morgan said cautiously, she hadn't missed the implication either, "I have to go find Cal, I'll see you later Hunter. Bye Alyce,"

"Good bye, dear," she replied. I felt uncomfortable under Alyce's gaze. She was looking at me as if she was trying to work something out yet at the same time as if she knew something I didn't.

"What?" I snapped, I realize that was incredibly rude of me but she didn't seem offended

"We'll see," she said cryptically, "We shall see how it all plays out." She leaned into my ear "and I'm rooting for you by the way," she whispered

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"I don't trust Cal," she said in a low voice, "he's a troubled young man, he's no good for Morgan. Would you do me a favour?" she asked, "Would you watch out for her Hunter?"

"You don't know me," I was the last person she should be asking, why did this woman seem to trust me over Cal with Morgan after only spending a few minutes in my presence? Did she have no idea who I was here with? "What makes you think you can trust me?"

"I don't need to know you, and I don't trust you, far from it, Hunter Niall. I just know that you'll do anything to protect her. I saw it written all over your face. I'm relying on that for you to do the right thing when it counts." She took my hands in hers, "And I'm begging you not to let any harm come to her, she will need all the help and protection she can get." I pulled my hands out from hers, she saw right through me. "You may think you're on the right path now but you're not, but that girl will lead you to it I promise you. She'll also help you see the truth"

"The truth about what?" I asked

"About your parents."

This woman was walking a very dangerous ground, "Who the hell are you?" my voice was low, menacing. I hardly recognized it myself.

"I'm a friend as long as you'll let me Hunter, I told you already I don't trust you, but I'm trusting you to make the right choices, especially when it comes to Morgan. Don't let me down."

We stared each other down for a moment, but then a head of blonde hair passed behind Alyce and even though many years had passed, I recognized my cousin Athar instantly. Sky was here.


	5. Five

**Summary – Hunter arrives in Widows Vale with his mentor Ciaran MacEwan. There he meets his half brother Cal and his girlfriend Morgan, whom he feels strangely drawn to, and is sucked into a cat and mouse game that has played between Ciaran and Selene Belltower for years and on top of it all he is reunited with his cousin Sky who is a Seeker for the International Council of Witches and has been hunting him down for years.**

_Disclaimer: These are all Cate Tiernans toys. They're just in my playground._

A/N: Hello readers! I'm so glad you guys are being so tolerable to my slow postings, I'm trying to get them out as fast as I possibly can, and it's not always so possible so thank you! I hope you are enjoying it so far, but here's the next chapter for you. Enjoy x

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><p><em>Cal has a brother, a half brother who he never knew existed until yesterday. I can't believe two brothers could be such polar opposites. Hunter is the ice to Cal's fire with his deep sea green eyes and blonde hair. I've always felt so plain next to Cal, Cal is beautiful and strong. But Hunter took my breath away, it almost hurt to look at him.<br>__I met him in Practical Magick yesterday when I was studying with Alyce. In fact I felt him coming into the shop before I saw him and his mere presence made all my senses tingle. When I came out from behind the curtain, I avoided his gaze, or at least I tried to, the way this man, who I'd never even seen before, affected my very being really unnerved me. But when I dropped my books and he offered his help I finally looked up at him and it all the strength I had not to reach out and touch his face. I didn't even know he was Cal's brother at the time but I'm Cal's girlfriend, I had to repeat that mantra over and over in my head 'I'm Cal's girlfriend, I'm Cal's girlfriend'  
>Today there's going to be a big meet at Selene's and I fear Hunter will be there, since meeting him he's all I've been able to think about and it's been driving me crazy. Why does he affect me this way? And will I be strong enough to resist his pull?<em>

_Morgan_

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><p>I panicked. My emotions were definitely getting the best of me and were rolling in waves strong enough to make Sky zero in on me. She had to double take and took a step back. I saw her mouth my name softly.<p>

It was clear she wasn't expecting to see me here and I couldn't get a read off her to tell how she felt about it. Whether that was down to my own rollercoaster ride of emotions going through me or because she was much better at masking it than I, I wasn't sure.

I was about to head towards her when Selene put a hand on Sky's shoulder they spoke for a while, Selene was obviously well experienced at crafting a face to sucker people in, she looked friendly and welcoming. She looked like a completely different woman to the one I met yesterday, the one with the bitter scowl that was etched all over her face. All those lines had been smoothed out and were replaced with this mask, today I could actually say she looked beautiful for a woman of her age and without that scowl it shed years off her.

Like me, Sky was not fooled by Selene's false niceness one bit. I could see it all over Sky's face as they spoke she knew who Selene really was. But this did not deter the formidable witch, nor did she allow her mask to slip one bit. I had to admit she was very good, if I didn't know better I know without a doubt that I probably would have been fooled.

Selene walked her around the room introducing her to different people, Sky didn't even to pretend to look interested, although she already seemed to know a few of the witches she was being introduced to, some she met with the same expression she gave Selene, others she met with a warm smile, but throughout it all her eyes kept flicking over to me.

"Do you know her?" a soft voice behind me said, I turned to see Morgan. She hadn't missed the tension between me and Sky.

"You could say that," I murmured

"Is she an ex?" she asked, I wasn't sure if it was just my imagination due to my own confused feelings for the girl but I thought I detected a hint of jealousy in her question, I decided not to dwell on it.

"Hardly," I chuckled, "She's my cousin,"

"Oh," Morgan said, "So that throws my theory out the water then,"

"Theory about what?" I asked. Sky had melted into the background for now. The beautiful woman before me had captured my full attention.

"About why you keep staring at each other and why the tension radiating between you is so insanely thick, it's almost making me uncomfortable," she smiled shyly,

I knew that not a lot of people in this room would have been able to pick up on that as much as she did. Morgan must be incredibly powerful to have picked up on so much. She must be more empathic than most witches. "At the moment yes it is exceedingly uncomfortable, I'm sorry you had picked up on that," I smiled

"No, no," she said, "I'm just really sorry to intrude on your personal life, it's really none of my business," she played with her fingers nervously, "I didn't mean to, I can just feel it,"

"It's okay, Morgan. I'm not mad, it's your gift, you should be proud of your talents, never be ashamed of them," she blushed

"I just feel like I've been imposing myself everyone's privacy since I discovered Wicca," she admitted

"When you get a better handle of everything you'll soon learn to block out the things you don't want to feel and it'll become second nature to you. You're just learning Morgan, you've been gifted with such power and it'll be impossible for anyone to handle what you've been dealt with in such a short amount of time, but you'll get there."

"I hope so," she sighed, I glanced over at Sky again and she was studying me and clearly wondering who Morgan was, she was suspicious about something. "She's intense, huh?"

"Oh yes," I grinned, remembering how intense Sky was even as a child, "That's Sky alright,"

"You two fell out about something?" she asked

"It's a little bit more complicated than that," I shifted awkwardly, this wasn't usually something I'd be comfortable opening up to someone about that I'd practically just met, but there was something about Morgan that made it feel right opening up to her about anything. I suppose I had really better be more conscious of that in case the wrong thing came pouring out. I picked my words carefully, "I made a choice when I was young," I started, "And my family didn't agree with it and so I left to pursue the new path I'd been lead on. Sky and I were really close growing up, she wasn't happy with my decision either and when I left it wasn't on such good terms. This is the first time I've seen her since I were 12 years old." I told her

"I'm sure by now she realises that it was your choice to make and she should accept you for who you are. Why don't you be the bigger man and go over to her and apologise?" she asked staring up at me with those big innocent doe eyes of hers, "I bet she misses you too and she'll be relieved that you took the big scary step so that she doesn't have to."

"I wish it were so simple," I sighed

"Why can't it be?" She was so naive about so much, and it made me want to protect her that much more, she is the perfect target for Selene and Ciaran and she's practically handing herself over to them.

"Because not everything in this world can be, you'll learn that soon enough," I sighed heavily

"Why don't you explain to the young girl why it can't be that simple, Giomanach," I turned to face the cold hard stare of my cousin

Morgan shifted uncomfortably, "I should probably let you two get reacquainted, I need to find Cal anyway, I'll talk to you later Hunter," she slunk away quickly, no doubt Sky's hostility was piercing her as sharply as it was me.

"Athar, it's been a long time,"

"7 years, dear cousin," she sneered, "7 years of searching for you, 7 years spent not knowing if you were alive or dead. But you've been associating yourself with this _crowd _the whole time? You let the dark magicks consume you, do you really think that you're in control of yourself? You must be kidding yourself," she spat, "If only your parents could see you now"

A flash of anger shot through me, how dare she bring them up? After all these years, she knew how to get under my skin. I took a deep breath and counted to three in my head to get back in control "Are you finished?" I asked her "Do you feel better now you've got that off your chest?"

She shook her head, "Not even close,"

I sighed "I've missed you, Sky," I told her earnestly, I saw a lone tear roll down her cheek, but Sky was always the tough one, if I hadn't of seen it I wouldn't have known how much my being here effected her.

"I missed you too," she finally admitted, "You're such a bloody idiot though. I'm so angry with you,"

"I know,"

"Why? Why these people? Why Selene?" she asked, "Surely you're not that stupid, please don't tell me you're working with her, Hunter. It'll kill me if I have to hand you in to the council."

"No Sky, I'm not working with Selene. I'd never even met the woman up until yesterday" I told her

She breathed a sigh of relief, "Well that's something I suppose." She studied me for a moment, "So why are you here?"

"I came with my mentor, the man who took me in after I left,"

"And who, dare I ask, might that be?"

I sucked in a breath and braced myself for the argument I knew was coming, "Ciaran MacEwan," I said quietly

Instead of more yelling, Sky simply perched on the side of a cabinet and rubbed the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger and sighed, she was silent a few moments and I grew concerned. Finally she looked up at me, her eyes were full of disappointment. This was the look I feared most. I could take the yelling, the arguments, but this, this is what broke me. "Who are you?" she finally asked, "You're not my cousin,"

"Sky, please." I begged, "Try to understand,"

"Understand what, Hunter? That you're in league with one of the most wanted dark witches in the world? He's a killer, Hunter,"

"Sometimes it's a necessary evil..." I trailed off, I didn't even believe the words coming out of my own mouth

"Can you even hear yourself?" Sky laughed incredulously, "you don't even believe it yourself, so what are you even doing here?"

"I owe him, Sky. He took me in when no one else would look twice,"

"You owe him nothing, he's turning you into something you're not, you are not a murderer!"

"No Sky, I'm not! But I'll not be restricted by the council laws either! There's a reason I have this power, I want to be able to use it the way I want to."

"That's the taibhs talking now," Sky rolled her eyes, "I'll be keeping a very close eye on you Hunter, one wrong move and I won't hesitate in handing you over to the council. It'll be for your own good." With that she turned and walked away.


	6. Six

**Summary – Hunter arrives in Widows Vale with his mentor Ciaran MacEwan. There he meets his half brother Cal and his girlfriend Morgan, whom he feels strangely drawn to, and is sucked into a cat and mouse game that has played between Ciaran and Selene Belltower for years and on top of it all he is reunited with his cousin Sky who is a Seeker for the International Council of Witches and has been hunting him down for years.**

_Disclaimer: These are all Cate Tiernans toys. They're just in my playground._

A/N: Hello everyone, I know that it has been such a long time since I posted and I am truly, truly sorry for leaving this so long. Life has been constantly getting in the way and I never find the time to write like I used to which is such a shame because I miss writing, its a relaxing hobby. I hope I can churn more chapters out for you without another long wait but I really can't make any promises, however I do promise not to leave this story incomplete forever. Thanks for your continued patience.

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><p><em>My Goddess, what has Hunter become? He has truly forgotten our teachings, the ways of our coven and our family, he turned his back on everything and now follows a monster. I honestly don't know what I would expect to see when I still hoped to one day see him again, I imagined hundreds of different possibilities. But seeing how far he has actually fallen broke my heart, he is at the epicenter of everything that is dark by associating with Selene and Ciaran and I fear it's too late to bring him back. It'll kill me if I have to turn him in to the council and strip him of his powers. Please Goddess, I beg of you, find a way to help lead him down the right path, I hope there is something or someone who can pull him out of his darkness before it is too late.<em>

_Athar_

At the circle everyone was on their best behaviour. Sky had left shortly after speaking with me, she had not stuck around that long and I can't say that I blame her, not only did she have to face her disappointment of a cousin for the first time in 7 years but she would have to play nice with highly dangerous witches on the councils top wanted list and if there was something Sky couldn't do, it was play nice.

I didn't really want to stay myself but my desire to share a circle with Morgan outweighed my desire to leave. I wanted to feel her energy flow through the circle more than I care to admit, but for the first time since I could remember it was more because I felt a connection to Morgan than my insatiable thirst for more power.

A darkness had crept into me a long time ago when I called upon that taibhs and what came with it was a hunger I just couldn't control. For years now I have watched Ciaran destroy lives, even whole towns in his quest for power. I don't condone his actions, yet my deepest shame is that I stand idly by and allow it to happen just so that I may become stronger, worse yet, I, myself, have often taken part in these devastating rituals

I'm not proud of the things I have done. I always regret them and I guess that is my only consolation. I'm not a good person, Goddess how can I be? I may not approve of murder but a good person would make a stand, not take part and reap the benefits. I am weak and it makes me the worst kind of person.

At least Ciaran knows what kind of person he is and revels in it. I battle daily with all my basic principles and morals and try to convince myself that somehow having them might make me redeemable. It was the ultimate catch 22 situation. I can't pretend to be something I'm not, as much as I try to be, but my need for power always clouds over all of my preconceptions and I have never been able to fight it. I feel the power and nothing else matters in that moment and so I give in to it. Every time.

In case you were wondering, I learnt to live with the fact that my complexes are too much for any shrink to analyze a long time ago.

For years I stayed loyal to Ciaran as a thanks for taking me in when I was homeless, for showing me a way to live without the constraints of the council and using my full potential, for gifting me more power than I ever imagined. I respected him and looked up to him as a father.

Even though I have never dared to speak of them with my mentor, I believed Ciaran has always known about my internal conflict and it has often made me question why he keeps me around. At least I did until I came here. I realize now that I am just another point for Ciaran in his game with Selene. I was angry that after many years at his sides I was still just a chess piece to him and I wasn't sure how to feel about that.

Morgan didn't disappoint in the circle. I had a taste of her power and I was in awe. As much as I craved it, as much as I wanted to claim it for myself something inside of me stirred which was stronger than my hunger, it was purer and much more primal and I clung to the feeling with fervor.

She was usually a beautiful woman, but lit up by the joy of her magick, she was truly the most beautiful creature I've ever seen. I knew now more than ever that she needed to be protected. I had to protect her.

After the circle I headed straight over to Morgan, I couldn't stop myself. I felt Cal's eyes on me as I approached, he seemed untrusting. I thought we had made good head way but he was acting far too territorial about Morgan for someone who claims to have no true deep feelings for her. I didn't like it.

"Hunter," he greeted me as I approached, "how did you enjoy the circle this evening?"

"That was really something," I blurted "I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a circle so much" as I said it, it suddenly occurred to me that I spoke the truth. A simple circle, magick in its purest form no longer seemed to fulfill me as they used to as they're supposed to, I guess the more I yearned the more they left me feeling empty, until tonight that is.

"I'm glad," Morgan smiled,

"We have to get going, I have to give Morgan a ride home." Cal took Morgan's hand in his

"I have a curfew," she explained, "it's a school night. See you around, Hunter"

"Goodbye Morgan, Cal"

I struggled to contain my jealousy as they walked away together. I could no longer deny that I wanted her. Cal didn't even love her, he had told me that himself. It seemed so unfair that he is the one that holds her hand.

For now at least, as long as what he told me about not wanting to see her come to any harm is true I would have to bide my time and see what becomes of them. But I'll be watching closely to ensure she will always be safe.

The car ride back with Ciaran was silent. I could feel his eyes on me from time to time but he left me alone with my thoughts. But my thoughts circled back to her. I asked myself again how could someone I have barely known a day affect me so strongly?


	7. Seven

**Summary – Hunter arrives in Widows Vale with his mentor Ciaran MacEwan. There he meets his half brother Cal and his girlfriend Morgan, whom he feels strangely drawn to, and is sucked into a cat and mouse game that has played between Ciaran and Selene Belltower for years and on top of it all he is reunited with his cousin Sky who is a Seeker for the International Council of Witches and has been hunting him down for years.**

_Disclaimer: These are all Cate Tiernans toys. They're just in my playground._

A/N: Hi readers, each time all I can do is apologise for the delay in my posts. I thank you for you continued patience while I keep trying to churn these chapters out! Thank you. Enjoy!

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><p><em>I had never really been attracted to Morgan, however, I knew since I first got to know her that I didn't really want any harm to come to her. She is a remarkable person, so strong willed yet so completely innocent. I was just playing my part, being a good son and I hoped that I would be able to convince Morgan to practise her magick freely, the way we do, and convince her to join Amyranth so that my mom wouldn't try to destroy her. I would hate to see that happen.<em>  
><em>But suddenly Hunter came along, a bastard half brother I never knew I had, and I see the way he looks at her, it makes me jealous and I can't fathom why, she doesn't have obvious good looks like the type of woman I would normally go for, but I suppose she is beautiful in her own modest way. It's the way Hunter's face seems to come to life whenever he sees her... I want that. And I definitely don't want him to have it, not with her.<em>

_Calhoun_

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><p>For several days after the circle I found myself constantly thinking about Morgan, I had to force myself to keep my distance otherwise I'd end up looking like some kind of pathetic stalker. I've had to stop myself on several occasions from making up an excuse to reach out to her.<p>

Instead I managed to keep myself busy and spent most of my days by Ciaran's side, attending Amyranth meetings and throwing myself into circles and rituals.

Ever since we had arrived in Widow's Vale I have felt like I have been under Ciaran's scrutiny and I thought it best to keep him happy so I carried on and acted like my normal self. Like I hadn't discovered a half brother or laid eyes on the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I buried it all and threw myself into my work.

One morning Ciaran announced that he was heading to New York for the weekend and I jumped at the chance for an escape, I was starting to develop cabin fever as I had avoided going out in fear of running into either Athar or Morgan. I was trying to stay focused and running into either of them would do anything but.

Whatever Ciaran's business was in New York, he didn't want me to be included and that suited me just fine. Still I asked him for a ride into the city as I knew there was at least one friendly face currently residing in New York that I was very eager to catch up with, Ciaran's son, Killian MacEwan.

Killian was a straight forward person, what you saw is what you got. No hidden agendas and no false pretences and right now I craved to be around someone like him. It would make a refreshing change to be away from all the mind games, which frankly were giving me a headache.

Don't get me wrong, Killian was far from innocent he used magick (and women) any way he wanted to without caring of the consequences and always to his benefits, but it was all in the name of having a good time rather than for some darker purpose. He didn't crave power like we did, all he craved was fun and attention and boy was Killian an expert at being in the centre of it.

Ciaran thought Killian pissed away his potential and doesn't often bother with son, or any of his other children and he thought them weak like their mother. I suppose in a way that may have been another reason why he took me under his wing, that I might be a child he could be proud of. I may not have been his biological son, but he raised me to be his prodigy over his own children.

I couldn't help but feel guilty that I was always treated as the favourite child even though I was the only one who wasn't biologically Ciaran's. I knew his other children Kyle and Iona hated me for it, but Killian never seemed to care, he always treated me like we were brothers and even though no one could take the place of my own brother, Linden, I appreciated the bond we shared. I felt that I could always open up to him and I knew I could rely on Killian to be there for me, even though he was the most unreliable person I'd ever known.

Killian could have been truly great, he has the potential and has strong magick, something that his siblings do not have. But he doesn't have the ambition that Ciaran wished he possessed. I I think it bothers him deep down, on some level that his father can't accept him for the way he is, but he doesn't show it. His relationship with Ciaran is almost non existent and he prefers it that way, if something has the potential to hurt him, he will keep it at arms length.

By the time we arrived in New York, it was late in the evening and without saying a word to one another we went our separate ways. I immediately sent Killian a witch message.

_Killian, I'm in the city. I can come to you if you're free to meet up._

He replied back in seconds

_Hunter! Brother! I am in 'Clair de Lune' a new club in Brooklyn. I have already found you a beautiful blonde, she is just your type and I am keeping her warm for you. _

I shook my head and smiled

_I'm getting into a taxi now_

When the cab pulled up outside the club I cast out my senses. I immediately picked up on Killian's presence as well as the presence of a handful of other witches.

This was not a Wiccan hangout unlike a lot of Killian's other haunts but I knew he often liked to hit up regular clubs because his 'skills' came in handy when he was out to pick up women and free drinks, unfortunately for him, most of the time these same 'skills' fell flat with other witches.

I got out of the cab and paid the fair and made my way inside, my own set of 'skills' made it easy for me to bypass the queue lining up outside.

I followed my senses and wasn't surprised to find him sitting on the plush crimson couches in the VIP section with women fawning all over him. He stood abruptly knocking over a tray of drinks on the table and at least two of the girls either side of him to the floor when he saw me approaching and with his arms outstretched he called out to me, "Hunter! It has been a long time brother!" he pulled me in for a bear hug and then cleared room for me on the couch. He turned to the redhead who was sat beside him.

"Melissa!"

"Krysten!" she immediately corrected him

"Krysten! This is my brother, for all intents and purposes, his name is Hunter, would you be a dear and go get him a beer from the bar?" Killian was definitely on a roll tonight by the looks of things because this woman, who seconds ago he called by the wrong name, was already on her feet with a seductive smile and turned to head to the bar to buy me a beer.

I watched in amusement as he watched her from behind, or rather watched her behind, as she walked away "Does it ever get old?" I asked him

He finally turned back with a big grin on his face, "Nope. So what's new? What brings you to The Big Apple?"

"Ciaran's here for something, I came for the ride. It's been too long since I've seen you" I admitted

Killian laughed, "What's wrong, Giomanach?" he asked me, "You usually come to me to get your troubles of your chest,"

"Not always," I said defensively

"I said _usually_," Killian emphasised the word, "besides you and fun aren't an easy combination, you look uncomfortable in places like these" the redhead, Krysten returned and handed me a bottle of beer,

"Thanks," I said to her then turned back to Killian "Sometimes," I admitted, "But I know how to have fun,"

"Yes, I suppose, once you learn to let go," he said, "but you always struggle with the letting go, so what's on your mind, Hunter?"

I sighed, "Well..." I was about to tell him about my last few days in Widow's Vale when he put a finger to my lips

"Actually, I've had quite a lot to drink so let's talk about that tomorrow, tonight just let go" and as if on cue a waitress appeared with a tray of shot glasses filled with a light gold liquid. Killian flagged her down handed her a couple of bills and whispered in her ear, she nodded and placed the tray on the table in front of us.

"Right Hunter, it's just you, me and this tray of tequila,"

I laughed, "Killian, there must be about 20 shots on that tray me and you can't possibly have them all,"

Killian then gave me that look, that look where I knew I had no choice in the matter and I sighed. For just one night I suppose I could let go. It's not as if I do this every weekend, sometimes I deserve to chillax as the kids would say. I picked up the first shot and necked it back chasing it quickly with my beer.

"That's the spirit!" Killian grinned, then his eyes drifted to the dance floor where a pretty little blonde was heading towards us, "And right on time, here's your blonde!"

I downed two more of the tequilas and Killian gestured for the blonde should come sit beside me, "This is Amelia, Amelia this is Hunter." She flashed me a beautiful smile and Killian knew me well, this was the type I would usually go for. Before Morgan that is. I tried to shake her out of my head but I knew it was going to take a lot more tequila for that.


	8. Eight

**Summary – Hunter arrives in Widows Vale with his mentor Ciaran MacEwan. There he meets his half brother Cal and his girlfriend Morgan, whom he feels strangely drawn to, and is sucked into a cat and mouse game that has played between Ciaran and Selene Belltower for years and on top of it all he is reunited with his cousin Sky who is a Seeker for the International Council of Witches and has been hunting him down for years.**

_Disclaimer: These are all Cate Tiernans toys. They're just in my playground._

A/N: Seeing as its Christmas, the spirit is upon me and I've managed to churn out a new chapter quite quickly. Hopefully it won't be long before the next one is ready. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone. Enjoy :-)

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><p>Selene is playing a very dangerous game with me, unfortunately I have not worked out what it is yet, but I will, and I will beat her at it.<p>

It must have something to do with that girl, Morgan. Oh my, what raw power she has, she is incredible yet so naive and untutored, so full of endless potential. She'll be the prize in my collection. To have her standing at my side as well as Hunter with the darkness that possesses him, Selene can't win.

Neimhidh

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><p>When I opened my eyes the next morning, the room was definitely spinning and my head was pounding. I didn't feel like I was going to be sick but I felt like I urgently needed to drink about 3 litres of water, have a hearty breakfast involving a lot of bacon and to knock back some Tylenol.<p>

I looked around to figure out where I was and luckily my surroundings were vaguely familiar, I've stayed in this room before. It was the spare room in Killian's apartment. I tried to remember how or when I got back here but I was coming up blank. I tried to recall the evening but I didn't remember much past the first 6 or 7 shots of tequila. I tried not to groan too loud when I sat up but my body revolted against my head and as I moved I felt something stir beside me.

It was the blonde from last night, Amelia, I believe her name was. One night stands weren't usually my thing, it was something I rarely did but this was definitely one of the drawbacks of hanging out with Killian. My better judgement seemed to disappear.

She was a very pretty thing, definitely the type I used to go for and usually I'd feel a lot more relieved after sex whether I recalled the event or not. My body would just know and I'd feel relaxed. But something was different this time and deep down I knew what it was.

I wondered if Morgan and Cal had sex yet? I'd put money on it. Cal seemed to be quite the charmer and I wouldn't put it past him to have already seduced her, after all it was his job. Thinking about it like that made me sick and I hated that she was being used by Cal, I believed him when he told me that he didn't want to see Morgan to come to any harm but I knew he was still going to break her heart and that thought was unbearable.

I had to get my head together, these kinds of thoughts were exactly the reasons I needed to escape to the city in the first place. I was uncomfortable with how much she'd got under my skin.

"Good Morning, handsome," Amelia's sleepy voice brought me back to reality, she reached over to kiss me but I couldn't bring myself to kiss her back so my cheek intercepted the kiss. She didn't seemed fazed by this, she was still waking up.

"Good morning," I replied, I didn't really know what to say to the girl, I can't remember if we even had a real conversation last night.

"Man, that was a wild night!" as she stretched, the covers dropped and revealed her bare chest and I couldn't help but look away, "don't be shy now," she said as she slid out of the covers, "you've seen it all before" She stretched again completely naked and completely without shame and then foraged for her clothes,

"Did... err... did you want any, um, breakfast?" I asked her, _smooth Niall_.

She laughed, "Hunter, I know what last night was, I'm not an idiot. You're a sweet guy and if you weren't so hung up on this Morgan girl I probably would take you up on some breakfast,"

"Wait... I talked about Morgan last night?" I asked horrified, wondering what on earth I could have possibly revealed.

"A lot," she rolled her eyes, "You're lucky you're so hot." She gave me a wink as she pulled up her panties, "it's too bad really, if things don't work out, I've already put my number in your cell, you should give me a call." She finished shimmying into her clothes and then grabbed her purse, "I'll show myself out."

And with that she left the room, and the apartment I assumed. I was glad really, I hated awkward morning afters. I put on some pants and headed out to the kitchen to hunt for some pain relief. Goddess did I pray for bacon, and none of that rubbish American bacon, proper British bacon, Killian and I found a little deli in Brooklyn that imported British bacon last summer, we spent a fortune on the stuff. Hangovers made me homesick.

I cast a quick spell to relieve some of my headache but luckily I found some advil in one of Killian's drawers, as I needed all the help I could get. After chugging back a pint of water I began to feel much better. Tequila gave me the worst hangovers.

After a long, hot shower I glanced at the clock, it was almost ten-thirty. Knowing Killian, he wouldn't be up for a couple of hours yet. I decided to venture out in search for some food seeing as he doesn't know how to keep his kitchen stocked with anything besides alcohol and huge packets of American crisps.

I headed out for a walk and eventually came across a diner, I went inside and ordered a large breakfast equipped with the much needed bacon (unfortunately they only had the US kind) and a cup of Earl Grey tea. Once devoured, I was struggling to remember even having a hangover this morning.

As I sat there I decided to write an entry in my Book of Shadows and when I finished I stared out the window and began people watching. I was never any good at killing time but I gave it till noon before heading back to the apartment.

I knew where Killian kept a spare key and I took it with me before I left so that I was able to let myself back in. However once inside there was still no signs of life. I decided to send a witch message.

_Killian, are you alive in there?_

_No,_ was his answer. I chuckled he must be struggling as much as I did, he definitely drank a lot more than I. Who knew how much he had already drank before I turned up.

_Are you decent? _I probed

_Sure._

I let myself into his bedroom where sure enough he was decent but the redhead from last night, Krysten, definitely wasn't.

"OH MY GOD!" she cried pulling the covers over herself quickly, "Dude, you ever hear of knocking?"

"Goddess, Killian!" I groaned, he found the whole thing hilarious, "I'm sorry, miss" I apologised, I closed the door behind me and waited, embarrassed I may add, for them to emerge.

Ten minutes later they both came out and he lead her to the door, "I'll call you," he told her sweetly, and even as he said it to her he appeared so genuine that even I would have believed it had I not known Killian.

"Goodbye" she giggled and kissed him again, Killian closed the door behind her

"You are so not going to call her,"

He grinned, "What?" he feigned shock, "I might, she wasn't bad in the sack you know," he slipped down next to me on the couch and murmured a spell for his head

"Here," I said handing him a bag of pastries and a paper cup of coffee I picked up for him on my way back, "this helps,"

"Thank the Goddess," he ripped the goods from my hands and immediately began to chow down,

"You know you could try keeping food in the house once in a while," I suggested

"Like I ever have the time to go shopping," Killian replied with a mouth full of food

"Seriously? What is it you do all day? Do you even have a job these days?" I asked,

"Who are you, Da?" he looked annoyed,

"But how exactly do you pay for all this?"

"You know Ciaran bought the apartment for me"

"Yeah, but bills? Food? Drink? Your mobile phone? Your partying habits?" I asked, it was something I had often wondered, I did worry about him

"I scrape by, but mostly I'm just _really_ good with women," he winked. I knew his influence got him by most of the time, getting in places, free drinks and all that.

"I am mostly a man of leisure, Hunter. So I work when I want, friends refer me and I get a few gigs here and there and its good money"

"Gigs doing what?" I asked

"Let me show you" he stood up and went to his computer in the corner of the room and opened a file creatively titled 'work stuff' inside that folder were many sub folders with various titles, mostly names of people he clicked on one

"Photographs?"

"Yeah," he showed me a few more of the folders, "I do weddings, models, family portraits and sometimes even pets, I'm making quite a name for myself"

I smiled at him, "Killian, these Pictures are really good,"

"Well people wouldn't pay me if I wasn't any good at it, Hunter." He rolled his eyes, "Happy now?" he asked and shut down the computer

I laughed "Yeah, yeah, alright then. Sorry to sound like your mother there," I moved back over to the couch as Killian grabbed another pastry from the bag

"What's been on your mind then?" he asked spraying crumbs everywhere

So I told him everything, about Morgan and the strong pull to her and my deep fear I had that Selene and Ciaran may harm her, about learning I had a half brother I never knew about, about my reunion with Sky everything that had happened to me in the last week. My Goddess had it only been a week?

Killian listened intently, he let me speak without interrupting and waited for me to get it all off my chest. When I finished speaking we sat in silence for a few moments, I guess he was digesting it all.

"You didn't know about, Cal?" Killian asked finally

I sat up straighter, "Wait, you did?"

Killian nodded, "Met him a few times, he can be a good laugh but he's a bit of a douche, thinks he's prince bloody charming or some shit,"

"Sounds just like you" I retorted, he threw a cushion at me

"I don't pretend to be a prince, I'm quite forthright in being a jackass, the women who meet me know it, and yet still they can't resist me," he said, "besides, I think his mother Selene has drilled some big sense of entitlement into his head and he always seems to have a chip on his shoulder about something,"

"So what should I do?" I asked

"Sounds to me like you're in over your head, you need a wing man," Killian said, "when are you and Da heading back?"

"This evening,"

"Good, I'll pack a bag and I'll come with you," he grinned

I laughed, Killian and Ciaran weren't on the best of terms. I've lived under the same roof as them before and they were constantly at each others throats like cats and dogs. The problem was Ciaran believed his son was a huge waste of space and hated that he was 'throwing away his potential' and Killian just loved rubbing it in Ciaran's face. Having Killian stay with us was going to be a nightmare.

"I promise I'll be on my best behaviour," Killian drew a cross over his heart with a finger, "cross my heart," he said.


	9. Nine

**Summary – Hunter arrives in Widows Vale with his mentor Ciaran MacEwan. There he meets his half brother Cal and his girlfriend Morgan, whom he feels strangely drawn to, and is sucked into a cat and mouse game that has played between Ciaran and Selene Belltower for years and on top of it all he is reunited with his cousin Sky who is a Seeker for the International Council of Witches and has been hunting him down for years.**

_Disclaimer: These are all Cate Tiernans toys. They're just in my playground._

A/N: I do hope everyone had a great Christmas/Holiday Season and New Year, this is my new years resolution to try and update and finish this fic within a sufficient amount of time, and recently I've been doing well :-) I hope you're still enjoying it, please show me love by reviewing it may inspire me to update faster ;-)

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><p><em>It's been a few days since I last saw Hunter and what surprises me is that I miss him, I didn't understand why I miss him as I hardly know him. I love Cal, but I can't help feeling guilty as I think I also have feelings for Hunter. Who am I kidding? I do have feelings for Hunter - huge, heart wrecking feelings that scare me because they're so much more intense than my feelings for Cal. Why do these things happen to me? And they're brothers for Goddess sake!<em>

_I found myself really disappointed at our Cirrus meeting on Saturday night, Hunter was supposed to show but he didn't. I can't help feeling like maybe he's avoiding me. It's so wrong to be feeling this way about someone who clearly doesn't feel the same when I'm already with someone else._

_I need some kind of closure, perhaps I should take him up on his tuition offer some time to see whether its just my imagination. Who knows maybe some time alone with him will cure me of this wretched infatuation!_

_Oh Morgan, you are such a fool._

_- Morgan_

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><p>Ciaran was already waiting by the car looking expectantly at his watch. As if I didn't already know I was running late, after all I did have Killian with me who had no sense of time keeping and the only thing he was reliable at was being unreliable.<p>

I was lead to believe he had already packed ready to go after we had our conversation. But when I announced it was time to go and meet Ciaran a couple of hours later - that was when he got up and begun to pack his things, I got frustrated with him and I couldn't help but think that Killian did this on purpose to keep Ciaran waiting. Judging by his expression as we neared the car, my thoughts were confirmed. It made me want to cry out in frustration.

"Ciaran, I'm sorry we're late" I said as we approached

Ciaran looked up ready to grill me for my tardiness but was taken aback to see his youngest son trailing behind me, I knew he quickly realized that it would not have been my fault for the delay as he rolled his eyes.

"Killian," he nodded, it was quite a reserved and formal greeting considering the guy was his son.

"Da," Killian nodded just as formally.

I was under no delusions that this wasn't going to be an awkward car journey. Ciaran's eyes met mine evenly, I could tell he wasn't happy about this arrangement and I would probably pay for it in some way later.

After a long, uncomfortable silence in the car, Ciaran finally broke it, "So what brings you to Widows Vale with us, Killian?" he asked, "Surely a small town such as ours doesn't provide the quality of night life that you're used to and thrive on,"

"I fancied a change of scenery" Killian shrugged, "I have no work commitments at the moment and I wanted to spend some quality time with Hunter,"

"You actually have work commitments?" Ciaran raised his eyebrows, he was trying to get a rise out of his son, luckily, for my own sanity, Killian doesn't easily bite.

"Not right now," he grinned. Killian turned to me and winked, he knew what his father was trying to do. I could see Ciaran's eyes in the rear view mirror and it was almost as if I could read his mind as he thought about what a waste of space his son was.

I breathed a sigh of relief when we finally arrived home and I don't think I've ever jumped out the car quicker in my life.

Ciaran made his way straight into the house without a word to either of us, I briefly considered following him inside and asking him about his business in New York, I was dying to know. But I knew without a doubt that he wouldn't tell me anything, especially with Killian here, I'd have to get him alone later. Maybe I had made a mistake letting Killian come back with me?

"So Hunter, what is there to do around here?" Killian asked

"Not a great deal," I admitted,

"Then let's go find something to do," he grinned

I shook my head with a smile, no I hadn't made a mistake, Killian's presence was the welcome distraction I needed. He could find fun no matter where he went.

I lead him to my car, "I'm starving" Killian stated, "Is there anywhere to grab a bite at this time of night?" he asked, I realised that we hadn't eaten since our breakfast that morning and the thought of food suddenly awoke my stomach and I heard it gurgle. Killian's stomach seemed to grumble in agreement. We both laughed.

"Food sounds like a great idea," I admitted.

I drove us to the late night diner and as I pulled into the parking lot I felt the stirrings of a familiar tingle in the back of my neck. I glanced around and saw Cal's car parked a few cars away from mine, I knew they were both inside. "On second thoughts," I said, "Let's try somewhere else." Just as I was about to turn the keys in the ignition to drive away Killian leaned over and ripped the keys away from me.

"What the hell are you doing?" I cried

"You really do not want to go in there, do you?" he grinned,

"Cal and Morgan are inside," I sighed, "I don't want to see her right now, I need to keep my distance,"

"But I really want to meet her, after all isn't that why I'm here?" he climbed out the car not waiting for my answer and headed towards the diner. I growled in frustration, he was giving me no choice here. I climbed out the car and with my head down I followed him into the diner.

I felt both Cal's eyes and Morgan's eyes on me as soon as I entered.

"Killian?!" Cal cried surprised, "Good to see you, man, what are you doing in Widows Vale?"

"Just catching up with my adopted bro - Hunter here," he answered and took the booth across from them, I reluctantly sat down across from him and I say an awkward hi to the pair.

Killian, who was an expert at feigning innocence, said, "You know Cal, Hunter?"

Exasperated I nodded "Killian, Cal is my half-brother," of course, Killian, already knew this, "And this is Morgan, Cal's girlfriend. Morgan, this is Killian, my adopted-brother for all intents and purposes"

Morgan smiled a genuine smile at Killian, "Hi, it's nice to meet you," she said,

"Likewise," Killian reached over, took Morgan's hand and kissed it gently, he was such a charmer. He'd better not be flirting. I quickly noticed that both Cal and I were giving him the same deadly look. I immediately relaxed and smoothed mine over before Cal noticed. I must remember that she's not mine to get possessive over. Killian picked up a menu, "say what's good to eat here?" he asks her, I think it was rhetorical because he didn't give her any time to answer before he turned to Cal

"So who would have thought that you're the half-brother I've heard so much about" he said

"I hope it was all good things you heard" Cal said

"Mostly," Killian waved a hand nonchalantly, "but don't forget that I know you and we both know that anything good would all be lies, Blaire," he winked and picked the menu back up again just as the waitress placed Cal and Morgan's meals in front of them, Killian investigated the contents on their dishes as the waitress turned to our booth.

"What can I get for you?" she sounded exactly like I would if I worked in a place like this, as if the job was slowly draining the life and soul away from her.

"That looks pretty damn good," he said pointing at Morgan's plate of pancakes and bacon, "a breakfast dish so late in the evening, I like your way of thinking," he said to Morgan, she laughed.

She found him funny. No girl could resist Killian's charms, not even Morgan it would seem. "I'll have what she has, with a large chocolate milkshake" he told the waitress

"And for you?" she asked me

"Can I just get a cheese burger and fries with a coke please?" I folded my menu away and placed it back in its holder.

The waitressed nodded, wrote my order down on her pad and headed for the kitchen without saying another word. So much for the outstanding American Customer Service I'd heard so much about.

"So Hunter," I turned surprised to hear Cal addressing me, "I thought you were going to make an appearance at our coven meeting on Saturday, how come you didn't show?" he asked, I heard the underlying accusations.

"Had some business to attend to in New York with Ciaran," I answered, "While I was out there I ran into Killian and he decided to come back with us for a while,"

"And I am so pleased I did" Killian smiled as the waitress returned with our drinks.

"You're welcome to come to our circle this Saturday," Morgan offered, "If you're both free of course,"

"We would love to! Wouldn't we Hunter?" Killian exclaimed, this was all a big game to him, I'm pretty sure he knew about the inner turmoil I was going through but nevertheless he was loving it.

"Of course," I smiled at Morgan, "We'd love to," it was the first time since we entered the diner I allowed myself to really look at Morgan and I instantly regretted it. Suddenly she filled my mind again leaving no room for anything else, she became my every thought and my every desire. It took about a week of Morgan-detoxing to make room in my head for other things last time and now I'm right back where I started.

Cal didn't look happy, I didn't understand it. Okay, I suppose on some level I could, but if it was just about him picking up on my feelings for Morgan, surely he could see that I'm not acting upon them. If it was anything to do with our father then we hadn't smoothed that over like I believed we had, I truly believed we were on the same page there. At the end of the day Cal was my brother, I wanted us to get along.

I kept silent when our meals arrived and allowed Killian to talk enough for the four of us entertaining us all with crazy anecdotes, he had us all wiping tears from our eyes due to laughing so hard at his stories.

When Morgan and Cal had finished eating Cal stood. "Well it was nice to see you again, Killian," he said, "But I'd better get Morgan back home before her curfew, but we shall see you both Saturday?"

"Count on it," Killian said with a mouthful of pancake

"Bye," Morgan waved

"Bye," I replied

When they had gone I glared at Killian, "I think that went well," he said, I rolled my eyes, but he was right it had, Cal had even seemed to warm to me a little more, not by much, but enough.

"You can be such an arse at times," I muttered

Killian laughed, "It's a gift" he sucked on his straw for the last of his milkshake making loud sucking and slurping noises, "I like Morgan, there's definitely something about her" he grinned at my reaction, "don't worry I don't like her like that. But I do like her a lot, just in a more platonic way. Which has completely mystified me, the relationship I have with girls is never platonic" he scratched his eyebrow as if trying to work something out, "does she seem familiar to you?" he asked me finally

"Yes!" I replied, I was so relieved that it wasn't just me who thought this, "since the moment I first laid eyes on her I thought there was something familiar about her, like perhaps we'd met before or something, I just can't place her or put my finger on what it is,"

"Hmm," Killian looked deep in thought, "I'm sure it'll come to us," he said, "Though, I can see why Da and Selene have taken a shine to her," his face was solemn now.

"We can't allow that to happen, Killian,"

"I know," he agreed, "So what do we do?"

"I'll keep my ear to the ground, try and keep on top of everything going on between Ciaran and Selene and make sure nothing goes down without my knowing about it, which unfortunately is easier said than done." I sighed, "If we tried to bug one of them they would know,"

"But would Morgan know if we bugged her?" Killian asked,

It was a good idea, it definitely had merit, but… "she's so powerful, Killian, I think she might,"

"Yeah so we tell her about it," Killian shrugged, "Just tell her enough for her to agree to it, we could tell her that we know there's a powerful coven who are attracted to powerful witches and with her lack of training and great power we are worried about her being a target. I'm sure we can come up with some kind of bug which isn't invasive but will alert us anytime Morgan feels panicked or scared at least that way we'll have some kind of heads up if something happens,"

I beamed, I was honestly surprised and impressed at his way of thinking "Killian, you are a genius!" I cried

Killian grinned, "But what about, Cal?"


	10. Ten

**Summary – Hunter arrives in Widows Vale with his mentor Ciaran MacEwan. There he meets his half brother Cal and his girlfriend Morgan, whom he feels strangely drawn to, and is sucked into a cat and mouse game that has played between Ciaran and Selene Belltower for years and on top of it all he is reunited with his cousin Sky who is a Seeker for the International Council of Witches and has been hunting him down for years**.

_Disclaimer: These are all Cate Tiernans toys. They're just in my playground._

A/N: Hi guys, another update so soon, I know its amazing! Please read, enjoy and review!

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><p><em>I'm seeing a change in Hunter this week, a good change. He's still a stick in the mud don't get me wrong but I don't know… he's finally found something to disobey Ciaran for and that's always a good thing in my books. He's going to risk it all for this girl, risk being found a traitor. Amyranth will surely kill him for such an act.<em>  
><em>I know he's always been conflicted about his feelings for Amyranth, he's power mad but he's not a killer like they are.<em>  
><em>I don't believe Hunter has ever been his real self since I've known him it's like he's two people, there's always something that dwells within him that occasionally rears its ugly head, but this week I've been getting more glimpses of the real him and I like seeing it, maybe he needs help, but I wouldn't know where to start.<em>

_- Killian_

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><p>The week flew past and Saturday had finally come around again, this time, thanks to Killian, I didn't isolate myself indoors. We ventured out on several occasions and I didn't run into Sky once. Morgan, however was a different story. We bumped into each other in Practical Magick on Thursday, I was going to tell her our plan then and there but just as I was about to Cal walked in.<p>

I think Killian was just the medicine I needed, it gave me a nice reprieve from the Selene, Ciaran and Cal drama and helped to take my mind off Morgan, not hugely, but it helped.

The only problem about a reprieve was that the darkness inside me was beginning to squirm again, it was hungry for something more. I had been skipping Amyranth meetings and circles all week and the darkness wasn't happy. Neither was Ciaran.

He collared me last night while Killian was out fetching Chinese food.

_Giomanach, come to me,_ he sent me the witch message, I knew he wasn't happy when he used my coven name. I found him in his study.

"You wanted to see me?" I asked

"Why did you insist on my idiot, playboy son coming here?" he asked, "he is nothing but a bad influence on you, you've neglected your work since he's been here,"

"I'm sorry, Ciaran," I said honestly, "I just had a lot on my mind with the Cal bombshell and with Sky being here," I told him, obviously leaving the part out about my feelings for Morgan, "I just needed to take my mind off it all for a while,"

Ciaran studied me for a few moments, "I understand that sometimes we all need to take a few steps back and have a break from it all," he said, "but now is not a good time for this, Hunter. Not here, not with Selene. Not while we're so close to getting the Sguirs Dan."

When he calls Morgan by that title, it makes me forget about the fact he's talking about Morgan and I feel an unquenchable thirst for her power, I shuddered. The darkness inside was more powerful than I was.

"Do you understand how important this is to our cause, what her power added to ours will mean?"

"I understand," I nodded,

"We have a job to do, Hunter," Ciaran said, "Yours is to keep that seeker away, she's been poking her nose into Selene's coven again, trying to warn some of the members. It's also your job to help Cal lure the girl to us so that she'll be easy prey when the time is right,"

"And when will the time be right?" I asked

"Soon," he promised, "While I was in New York I made all the arrangements with Amyranth, the ritual will take place there,"

"You mean away from Selene?" I asked, Selene wasn't connected to Amyranth the same way Ciaran was, she was a member of San Francisco's cell, but he was the New York's cell coven's leader, "You're planning to do this without her,"

Ciaran smiled, "Of course I am. That woman does not need another reason for a power trip. She already thinks she's more important than she actually is and she needs knocking down a peg or two,"

"So what are your plans for the girl?" I ask, "Did you want her to join us or did you want to just strip her powers?"

"The powers she could contribute to us will definitely be more potent and more useful if she were to join us," he said, "but if she refuses us, her powers will still be a massive boost to the collective,"

Again, I shuddered at the thought but the darkness within me drooled with anticipation.

"Killian won't be a problem," I assured him, "I'll regain my focus, but Killian is much better with people than I am, he could prove to be more of a help than a liability,"

Ciaran nodded, "Very well, ensure that he is, and Hunter..."

"Yes, Ciaran?"

"Don't let me down again," he said and waved his hand at me, I was dismissed.

Once Killian returned with our food, I told him about my conversation with Ciaran. We had to get to work quickly, with only the word 'soon' to go on, we needed to be prepared. After we ate, we hit the books and came up with a small bugging charm that we would give to Morgan, it did just exactly what Killian and I discussed. It should only alert us to her fear.

The Cirrus coven meeting was tonight, ideally we had decided that Cal was not to know about the charm, although we both knew Cal didn't want to see Selene or Ciaran harm her, the fewer people to know about it the better and the safer it was for Morgan, so now we had to work out how exactly to tell Morgan about the charm and give it to her without the prying eyes of her jealous boyfriend.

I had worked out how to find out if Morgan was in danger, but now I needed to figure out how to sway her to Amyranth. I knew deep down Morgan would not go for it, she's too pure of heart. So the real question was, how would I save her without being a traitor to Ciaran?

The truth was I needed Morgan, the weight of my internal darkness felt lighter and the thirst for power was easier to ignore when she was nearby. Right now it was almost impossible. It has only been since Morgan had come into my life that it begun to feel like my darkness was a separate entity within me. Perhaps Athar was right, perhaps the taibhs I conjured all those years ago has been controlling me all this time.

I didn't really have the time to worry about my possible problems right now, my main focus was Morgan and keeping her safe.

I told Killian the circle was being held an earlier than it actually was to guarantee that we'd actually be there in time and sure enough it worked, we got to Cal's with 10 minutes to spare and Killian hates turning up events early, he enjoys being fashionably late.

Morgan of course was already there, I had walked into the circle room just as Morgan and Cal were sharing a kiss, and judging by the look on his face, I knew he planned that perfectly. I plastered on my most friendly smile and greeted them both in a friendly manner despite the fact my heart was sinking inside.

Once more people showed up Cal began the circle, and I realized I was suddenly very eager to be a part of a circle with Morgan. Her power was divine and it was beautiful to behold.

"In our circle today, I thought we could concentrate on what we want from life. What are our goals? Who are we now and who do we want to be?" Cal said, he begun to move the circle deasil, "You don't need to say it out loud but think about it," he begun to sing a low power chant that I instantly knew was his ancestral power song and soon I heard Morgan's voice join with his singing her own song, it was beautiful, I was in awe.

As I joined my voice with theirs with my own chant, I begun to think about what I wanted. A harsh voice inside me I didn't recognise as my own screamed 'POWER!' it scared me, it was becoming more and more clear to me that my need for power came from something else. It wasn't me and I was scared of it. Something about being around Morgan seemed to have awoken me to the truth. Maybe she could help me as I am trying to help her.

Suddenly it came to me very strong, I knew what I wanted. I wanted to be myself again, free myself from this entity and be with Morgan, more importantly than that I wanted to be worthy of Morgan. I wanted to be good. The darkness inside me didn't like it, it stirred and I felt it fighting for control.

_Please, stop _

I started choking and coughing, I felt like I was suffocating. "Let's take it down" Cal's voice sounded so far away, he brought the circle down and once I felt it end I broke the circle and headed straight for the bathroom.

The choking feeling eased off, I splashed my face with cool water and drank some out my hand. After a moment I looked at myself in the mirror. My eyes suddenly flashed black and I jumped back. What the hell was going on with me?

A knock at the door made me jump, "Hunter?" it was Killian

"Just give me a minute" I said, my voice was hoarse

"Are you okay? What happened out there?" he asked

I emerged from the bathroom, "I don't know," I shrugged it off not making a big deal about it, Killian seemed to understand I didn't want to talk about it.

"I have an idea about our situation," he smiled

We headed back out to the circle room and Morgan immediately ran over to me, "Hunter!" she cried, "Are you okay?"

My eyes flickered up to Cal and his eyes were burning with hatred. "What happened?" she asked me

"I'm not sure," I said, "Just suddenly felt a bit overwhelmed and started coughing, but I'm fine now," I smiled at her, "Honest,"

She smiled relieved, _why was she so concerned about me?_ I wondered

"In the spirit of being fine, I suggest we all go out. Are there any decent bars around here?" Killian asked

This was his plan?

Everybody looked at him like he was crazy, myself included, I could tell that they were all wondering if he was seriously suggesting that a large group of underage teenagers would ever be able to get into a bar in a small town like this and were judging if this was a good idea or not.

Eventually the girl with the blue and black hair, Raven I think her name was spoke up, "Sounds great, I'm in"

A few others joined in, 3 or 4 members decided against the idea but everyone else was in. Morgan was reluctant to join but Cal was really up for the idea (thank God for Killian) and he persuaded her to come along.

Raven told us all about a biker bar at the edge of town that she often got served in and we all decided to meet there.

I climbed into the car with Killian, "So what's your actual plan here?" I asked him

"Divide and conquer!" he grinned, "I distract Cal, get him drunk and the good times rolling, while you talk to Morgan,"

It actually wasn't a bad plan. It could work.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked me, "How the hell did you start having a coughing fit in the middle of a circle?"

"I'm not sure what happened," I didn't want to think about the realization I had during the circle and the fact that my body has been invaded by what I believed to be a dark taibhs I raised as a child meaning that it had been controlling me for large part of my life. My focus had to be Morgan, once I knew she was safe then I'd look into my problem, "but I'm okay now," I told him


End file.
